What You Can Do To Prevent Dog Anxiety During A Vet Visit

Does your dog get anxious going to and during a vet visit? Sir Simon AND Prince Alvin turn into balls of mush as soon as we're within 5 minutes of the office. Then, they want to be picked up on the way into the office and held while waiting for the vet.

I can't say that I blame them and I wonder how they fared at the animal hospital during their stays for neuter and knee surgery.

Apparently there are several things you can do to ease their anxiety and make it easier on them and the vet. That's the theme of an article that spells out 5 things to teach your dog to improve vet visits by Colleen S Koch, DVM, KPA CTP.

Here's the condensed version:

1. Touch - if your dog is used to being touched, it makes the vet's exam much easier and less stressful for your dog.

2. Stand Still - it is difficut for dogs to stand still for even short periods of time. The boyz's groomer has taught them to stand still and I'm sure the vet is happy with that lesson!

3. Down positions - helps the vet examine your dog for any number of things - fleas, ticks, sores and to take x-rays.

4. Clicker trained dogs make everyone’s life easier. Why? When the vet clicks, the dog knows he has done something right! See When Pigs Fly!: Training Success with Impossible Dogs for lessons on how to train your dog with a clicker.

5. Hand target with nose. Apparently this has many different applications at a vet's office or clinic, including the following:

If dogs know how to hand target it helps us to move them around the clinic; on scales, into kennels, from one kennel to another, and makes them more comfortable in stressful situations.

It is much easier to apply Elizabethan collars as well as put on muzzles if your dog knows how to target. Dogs that know how to hand target can be easily distracted by the “trick” during uncomfortable situations, or moving past another “scary” dog or thing. You can also use this to help your dog learn to stand still, for any purpose.

So, what do you think? I say anything that eases a dog's anguish is worth the effort! No one likes to see a pained and feaful doggie expression (on a dog, that is!)

Housebreaking An Older Dog - Where Do You Start?

A visitor recently commented on the boyz’ impeccable toilet habits.

And then came the BIG question – “What would you recommend for my 3 Westies? They mess in the house all the time." (My thoughts – THAT must be a lot of fun to come home to!). (Pic is from dogwalkingsouthbeach.com)


The Westies in this discussion are not puppies, but adult dogs. My response was based on 3 things – the experts' advice, experience, and intel gathered from dog forums.

Here are my suggestions for housebreaking an older dog:

1. Get them a checkup at the vet to rule out medical issues that may cause them to be incontinent. If you don’t, you’re wasting your time. For example, one of these dogs takes medications for seizures. Is the medication contributing to the problem?

2. In general, housebreaking an older dog parallels the process for housebreaking a puppy. Choose crate training (http://www.squidoo.com/dog-and-puppy-crate-training-tips), paper training, or the direct method. The direct method involves keeping a watchful eye out for the obvious signs of poop or pee readiness – sniffing, circling, and squatting.

3. An older dog may have developed issues that need to be addressed a little differently. Three of these issues are separation anxiety, dogs who refuse to go outdoors during bad weather (Alvin borders on this woosie small dog syndrome), and older dogs who received inadequate housetraining; for example a shelter dog or a dog whose owner could not devote the time to housetraining.

The separation anxiety issue was addressed on a It’s Me Or The Dog TV show (animal Planet). A Dobermann would pee as soon as his male owner walked out the door. The owner’s wife kept a large mop by the front door. Victoria Stilwell addressed the anxiety problem and the peeing stopped. No – it ain’t magic, although it does seem that way when the problem is solved in an hour-long show. The important point here is the expertise of a dog behaviorist.

4. You will need a step by step procedure to implement and you need to stick to it without deviation. Illustrations are mandatory as well as a well-laid out easy understandable approach.

So, you can search the net and learn from any quack who happens to have an opinion about housebreaking an older dog, OR you can learn from the experts at Kingdom Of Pets. The online book is called The Ultimate HouseTraining Guide, and you can buy it (no, it’s not expensive) by clicking the picture shown below.


If by chance you should have additional issues with your adult dog (excessive barking, chewing, jumping, aggression toward other dogs, etc) – you might opt for the big kahuna - the Kingdom of Pets bible called Secrets To Dog Training (click the title to find out more). This uses DVDs, case studies, and represents the collective expertise of dog trainers with hundreds of years of experience.

I wished my visitor the best of luck with her Westies and congratulated myself for devoting the time and energy to housetraining the boyz when they were pups!

Goughnuts .75 - The Small Dog Toy - Causes Major Debate Among Co-Workers

Okay - so my co-workers and I were discussing the best small dog toys.

I mentioned how much I had paid for a GoughNut Green .75 (wee little Goughnuts) for Alvin. I neglected the fact that I paid even more for the GoughNuts Stick Green for his birthday because I was being beat about the head re the price of the Goughnuts .75.

Anyway, I presented a convincing argument that the GoughNuts .75 is indestructible and will last forever.

So, instead of continuing to buy many $5 - $10 toys that Alvin rips to shreds in 5 minutes flat, I bought a toy that has lasted more than a year with hardly a tooth mark.

And the little bugger carries it around every night to throw it for him repeatedly. And of course the Goughnuts party happens during dinner time. That toy has hit more walls!

He carries it outdoors and leaves it in frigid weather, snow storms, and hidden under bushes. We recovered one of the 2 goughnuts under a snow drift the other day - unscathed.

So, yeah - I made a great argument for that pricey small dog toy that's worth every penny, besides saving a lot of chewing on my things.

Now we have to work on Simon to stop dog chewing on bathroom rugs!

See this squidoo lens for best products for dog training: http://www.squidoo.com/best-products-about-how-to-train-your-dog